Andrea Rottmann lobbies successfully for LGBTQ in DC

Henry Gerber House, Home of German-American Gay Rights Pioneer, Soon to Become National Historic Landmark

On Thursday, February 12, 2015, the Henry Gerber House, home of German-American activist Henry Gerber and headquarters of the Society for Human Rights, the first chartered homosexual rights organization in the U.S., cleared one important step on its way to becoming a National Historic Landmark. Andrea Rottmann, PhD candidate in German Studies, was one of the graduate students who wrote the nomination for the house in a public history class taught last year by Michelle McClellan, Assistant Professor of History. Thanks to the support of the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, Andrea was able to attend the meeting of the National Park Service's Landmarks Committee in Washington, D.C. this week. The Landmarks Committee, made up of twelve scholars with expertise in American history, anthropology, archeology, and architecture, voted unanimously in favor of making the privately owned house in Chicago a National Historic Landmark. Members of the Committee expressed their delight about the nomination and praised the historical work that had gone into it. Explicit mention was made of the nomination's attention to how the early homosexual rights movement in Germany had been instrumental to Gerber's Society for Human Rights. The nomination will now move on to the National Park System Advisory Board, which then makes a recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior. If it passes, the Henry Gerber House will be only the second National Historic Landmark chosen for its significance in LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) history, the first one being the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The nomination is part of the National Park Service's LGBTQ Heritage Initiative and is accessible online.